Switch cut-out for automobile doors



March 26, 1957 R. c. MORGAN swmm CUT-OUT FOR AUTOMOBILE DOORS Filed Aug. 25, 1954 IN VEN TOR.

9 BY waozfik.

Robert 6. Morgan SWITCH CUT-OUT FOR AUTOMOBILE DOORS Robert C. Morgan, Topeka, Kans.

Application August 23, 1954, Serial No. 451,539

1 Claim. (Cl. ZOO-61.79)

The present invention relates to a readily applicable and removable attachment for the hinged edge of an automobile or equivalent door of the type which is provided with a push-button switch which turns the customary dome light off and on according to the open and closed positions of the door, said attachment constituting what is conveniently referred to here as a selectively or optionally usable cut-out for the switch.

It is a matter of common knowledge that a so-called manual type switch cut-out is not new. A number of similarly performing devices may be found in the art to which the invention relates. A typical example would be the so-called switch deactivator in a patent granted to Thomas I. Fiorucci, 2,656,427 on October 20, 1953. It follows that others working in this line of endeavor have recognized the need for practical and easily accessible means for rendering the door switch temporarily inactive when one desires to keep the door open for an extended length of time and does not care to have the dome or equivalent light on and burning needlessly at the time.

An object of the instant invention is to structurally, functionally and otherwise improve upon the above mentioned patent and any known similarly constructed and performing prior art adaptations in the same field of endeavor and, in doing so, to provide an improved structural achievement in which manufacturers, users and others will find their respective requirements and needs aptly met and satisfactorily handled.

Briefly summarized, the invention, therefore, has to do with an attachment or cut-out device which is characterized by a slidable retainer which, when in one position, does not interfere with the spring pressed projection position of the aforementioned switch button, but which may be shifted to a position which retains or keeps the button in a depressed open switch position, and the combination therewith of an adapter clip which serves as a handy attaching member and places the slidable button retainer in its desired operative position.

More specifically, novelty is predicated on an adapter clip which can be fastened to the usual face place of the switch casing or box by the customary attaching screw which is employed to secure the face place to the door edge, this being attained by way of a dimple-like formation constituting a part of the clip, and the latter being further unique in that it has specially bent flanges forming track means for the slidable retainer.

Further novelty is predicated on the retainer which takes the form of an elongated plate having laterally directed end portions, having a slot which is registrable with the aforementioned switch button, and having an indentation forming a pocket-like seat for the button.

Other objects, features and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying sheet of illustrative drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same:

Figure l is a perspective view of fragmentary type showaired States Patent V the essence here.

Patented Mar. 26, 1957 ing a portion of a door with a portion of the door jamb, the usual switch and the improved cut-out attachment and the manner in which it is constructed and employed;

Figure 2 is a view in section and elevation which may be said to be taken approximately on the plane of the line 2--2 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 3 is a view based on Figure 2, and showing the slidable retainer in its lifted button-retaining position; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the attachment by itself.

In Figure l, the door jamb is denoted by the numeral 6 and the usual hinged door by the numeral 8, the latter having a surface 10 which is movable toward and from the surface of the door jamb. The details of the switch are not herein revealed and are not thought to be necessary. It seems sufiicient to merely show, as has been done, the switch in a unitary sense, the same comprising a boxlike casing 12 which is fitted into a mortise provided therefor in the door and which has a face plate 14 which is held in place by screws or similar fastenings 16 in the manner shown in Figures 2 and 3, the aforementioned plunger type spring pressed switch button being denoted by the numeral 18. It is the latter element which is to be held in its depressed or retracted state, in the manner shown in Figure 3, and it is the attachment which is of This attachment comprises two parts; namely, the slidable retainer 20 and the adapter or attaching clip 22 therefor.

The first part, the slidable or shiftable retainer is a simple elongated plate 24 having a laterally bent lip 26 at the bottom and a similarly bent lip 28 at the top. The button clearance slot is elongated, centrally disposed and arranged in the upper half-portion of the plate, and this is denoted by the numeral 30. The lower half-portion is formed with a concave-convex indentation 32 which constitutes a clearance and receiving pocket or seat for the projectible and retractible button 18. The adapter clip also comprises a suitably shaped plate 34 which is shorter than the plate 24 and which has a V-shaped lower end portion forming a sort of a crotch, as at 36. On the longitudinal edge portions, I provide inturned hook-shaped bends or flanges 38-38 which, when opposed, provide an assembling track for the slidable retainer 20 in the manner clear from an examination primarily of Figure 4. The upper edge has a laterally bent lip 40 and the two lips 28 and 40 constitute finger grips and also stop elements. They come together in the manner shown in Figures 1, 2 and 4 to limit the downward sliding movement of the retainer 20. The slot is long enough to accommodate the plunger, and the plunger is projectible therethrough when the slide is in the down position seen in Figures 1 and 2. When the slide is grasped and lifted up and slid freely in respect to the adapter clip, the button seat or pocket serves to accommodate the button and holds the button in its retracted state in the manner shown in Figure 3. It will be noticed that the upper end portion of the adapter clip has a dimple-like neck 42, and this extends through the upper end of the slot 30, and it serves to accommodate the aforementioned screw 16 in the manner shown in Figures 2 and 3. Actually, this neck projects into the countersunk recess 44 in the face plate so as to accommodate the face plate of the usual screw which is employed for fastening it in place. This enables the adapter to be handily applied.

Thus, the adapter is screwed in place in the manner shown and the retainer plate is slidably mounted in the track-forming flanges 38-38 and it is shiftable up and down, and when it is down, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, it does not interfere with the operation of the switch button. When it is desired to keep the switch button retracted and the light off and the switch open, the slide is slid up in the manner shown in Figure 3, whereupon it depresses and holds the button in place. It is necessary to press the button in by hand and then move the slide up to retain the button, in an obvious manner.

It will be seen that the device as described is advantageous at an open air show, for example, on a hot night where one desires to leave the door or doors open for air without keeping the light on and Without discharging the battery. The same applies to a skeet field, for example, in the day time, where many persons sit in the cars to Watch the shooting. Time and again, it is desirable to keep the switch buttons on the doors depressed for one purpose or another, and obviously, the present invention permits this result to be satisfactorily attained.

If desired, the crotch portion 36 may be shaped up to conformably cooperate with the convex side of the indentation 32 so that when the slide or cut-out 29 is lifted up, the coacting surfaces frictionally combine in assisting in keeping the slide or retainer up. For the most part, however, this up position of the retainer is maintained by the pressure of the button against the slide itself in an obvious manner.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claim.

Cir

What is claimed as new is as follows:

For use in conjunction with an automobile door switch which is characterized by a casing having circuit make and break means controlled by way of a spring projected off and on button, said casing having a fixed face plate; a mechanical, manually actuated switch cut-out device which may be brought into play, when needed, for holding the button in a depressed circuit open position, said device comprising a shiftable slide, and an adapter whereby said slide is shiftably mounted for operative use on said face plate, said slide comprising an elongated plate having a centralized elongate slot in the upper portion with the upper end of the plate bent outwardly to form a combined stop and finger-grip, the lower end portion of the plate having a concavo-convex indentation constituting a seat for the switch button, said adapter comprising a clip having marginal edge inturned bends providing cooperating tracks, said slide being slidably mounted in said tracks, the upper end of said clip having a lateral bend forming a stop cooperating with the stop on the adjacent end of the slide, and the upper end of said clip having a dimple-like neck extending through the cooperating end portion of said slot.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,077,877 Fitch Nov. 4, 1913 2,150,873 Schultz Mar. 14, 1939 2,382,738 Moyses Aug. 14, 1945 2,656,427 Fiorucci Oct. 20, 1953 

